Rowden

Edge computing for defence and security

Head of Software

Engineering LeadershipUpdated on Nov 13

Full-timeBristol, UKNo salary listedIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

Candidates must be eligible for Security Check (SC) clearance.
The candidate needs sufficient depth in architecture and platforms to work directly with specialists and challenge technical risk, including system design, interfaces, scalability, and architecture trade-offs involving cost and schedule.
The candidate needs underpinning knowledge of Java, C++, Rust, and Python.
The candidate needs knowledge of testing, continuous integration and continuous delivery, release automation, configuration management, and software at the edge.
The candidate needs knowledge of secure development and assurance, including secure-by-design approaches, supply-chain risk, and evidence for a Defence Standard safety case or Secure by Design artefact set.
The candidate needs knowledge of machine learning operations, data provenance, and how models behave outside the lab.
The candidate needs knowledge of embedded software, radio frequency interfaces, and device fleet management in constrained, contested environments.
The candidate needs commercial literacy covering open-source software and commercial licensing, intellectual property, switching costs, and supplier incentives.
The candidate should be comfortable operating across software, hardware, and systems boundaries, developing senior engineers and team leads, and balancing long-term capability building with live programme demands.

Responsibilities

Own the software engineering standards for architecture principles, code review, testing, continuous integration and continuous delivery, and release; keep them practical and maintained by the people who use them.
Build a clear path for new joiners and a team learning programme that captures senior engineers’ knowledge so it can be taught.
Lead the software vision for the Accelerated Systems Framework, using artificial intelligence to accelerate development while keeping engineering judgement and accountability with people.
Build commercial awareness of vendor lock-in, open-source licensing, intellectual property, supplier incentives, and how contract choices can become long-term technical constraints.
Run regular one-to-one meetings and performance conversations, and understand each engineer’s strengths and development goals.
Define team structure and lead roles as the organisation grows, and recruit and onboard engineers with the People team.
Give engineers exposure to customers, suppliers, and operations.
Track and identify overload early, and plan cover and handovers.
Work with the Chief Engineers and Vice President of Engineering to keep delivery on track across priority programmes.
Own resource planning and flag gaps early.
Put sufficiently documented processes in place to make delivery sustainable and change-oriented.
Balance the impact of scope and priority changes on teams before making decisions.
Make secure-by-design the default and embed it into the software development life cycle process.
Drive the development and adoption of automated test infrastructure.
Hold lead engineers accountable for the safety and security arguments for their functions, with specialists challenging them through peer review.
Build the software assurance roadmap alongside software principal engineers, covering test and evaluation, build and release integrity, supply chain, and the organisation’s position on artificial-intelligence-assisted code and machine-learning assurance.
Own the software development life cycle definition and its end-to-end application, working with software principals to drive adoption.
Build the software function and set the standard for software engineering as the company scales, establishing clear vision, disciplined delivery, and secure development practices.
Unblock delivery by working directly with teams on design, integration, performance, and reliability problems; identify unnecessary complexity and help teams find better approaches.
Remain technically active where it adds value, grow technical leaders by solving problems alongside them, and support whichever programme most needs technical judgement.
Maintain visibility of capacity, risk, and employee wellbeing while leading development of complex software systems and building the team’s technical capability.
Work with principal engineers and functional leadership to set a software engineering vision covering architecture, practices, tooling, and skills, and turn it into a practical roadmap integrated with hardware and systems practice.

Desired Qualifications

Experience in defence, national security, or another safety- or mission-critical sector would be valuable.

We're building the UK's next generation engineering powerhouse, providing critical technology that strengthens national security and resilience.

We specialise in turning advances in sensing, AI, and communications into operational capability for the edge, where connectivity may be degraded or denied. Our work focuses on accelerating the deployment of technology, improving decision-making for frontline teams, and protecting people and critical assets in demanding environments.

Headquartered in Bristol, Rowden employs over 200 people and operates over 20,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing facilities. Recognised in the Financial Times FT1000 as one of Europe's fastest-growing engineering businesses, there has never been a better time to join,

Role purpose

Rowden is growing, in headcount and in impact. Alongside rapid prototyping and R&D, we are deploying production systems at increasing scale, relied on by customers in demanding operational environments. Our software engineering has to deliver both: the speed to prove new ideas and the depth to turn them into dependable systems.

That growth coincides with a generational shift in how software is built. AI tools are already helping us build, test and develop faster. This is a chance to shape how a growing engineering company works, pairing sound technical judgement with new tools to deliver better software at greater scale.

It’s a rare, potentially career-defining opportunity to join a fast-growing industrial technology company working at the intersection of hardware, software and AI.

Your mission is to build the software function that gives Rowden the speed and capability to deliver, and to set the standard for good software engineering as we scale. Clear vision, disciplined delivery and secure development should be the default, and teams should move at pace without burning out or relying on a handful of individuals.

You will unblock delivery by working directly with teams on hard design, integration, performance and reliability problems, spotting needless complexity and helping find a better way. You will stay technically active where it adds real value and grow strong technical leaders by solving real problems alongside them. You will also step into whichever programme most needs your judgement, while keeping a clear view of capacity, risk and the wellbeing of your people.

And you will shape what comes next. Working with our principal engineers and functional leadership, you will set a clear vision for software engineering at Rowden, covering architecture, practices, tooling and skills, and turn it into a practical roadmap that integrates with hardware and systems practice and holds up as we grow.

Candidates must be eligible for SC clearance.

More information about security clearance is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels

This is a functional leadership role with real technical ownership. You will lead the development of our most complex software systems while also building a team with industry leading technical capability through setting high expectations, treating people fairly, rewarding great performance, and making sure engineers have the support to sustain their effort and keep learning.

You need enough depth across these areas to work directly with specialists and challenge technical risk.

Standards and Capability

Own Rowden’s engineering standards for software: architecture principles, code review, testing, CI/CD and release. Keep them practical and maintained by the people who use them.
Build a clear path for new joiners and a learning programme for the team, capturing what senior engineers know so it can be taught.
Lead the software vision to the Accelerated Systems Framework (ASF), utilising AI to accelerate development while keeping engineering judgement and accountability with people.
Build commercial awareness: vendor lock-in, open-source licensing, IP and supplier incentives, and how a contract choice can become a technical constraint years later.

People

Run a steady rhythm of 1:1s and performance conversations. Know what every engineer is unusually good at and building towards.
Define team structure and lead roles as we grow, and recruit and onboard with the People team.
Give engineers exposure to customers, suppliers and operations.
Track and spot overload early and plan cover and handovers.

Delivery and Resourcing

Work with the Chief Engineers and VP Engineering to keep delivery on track across our most important programmes.
Own resource planning and flag gaps early.
Put ‘Just enough’ documented processes in place so delivery is sustainable and change oriented.
Balance the effect of scope and priority changes on teams before making a decision.

Assurance and secure development

Make secure by design the default and embed the approach into our SDLC process’.
Drive the development and adoption of our automated test infrastructure.
Hold lead engineers accountable for the safety and security argument for their functions, with specialists challenging through peer review.
Build the software assurance roadmap alongside the software principal engineers: test and evaluation, build and release integrity, supply chain, and our position on AI-assisted code and ML assurance.

Knowledge and information management

Own Rowden’s SDLC definition and application end to end, working with the software principals to drive its adoption.

We expect you to be a strong leader and technically credible in the following areas:

Architecture and platforms: system design, interfaces, scalability, and the trade-offs that tie architecture to cost and schedule.
Software Development: Underpinning knowledge of Java, C++, Rust, Python.
Testing, CI/CD and release: automation, configuration management, software at the edge.
Secure development and assurance: Build out and own our approach to secure by design, supply chain risk, and evidence that feeds a Def Stan safety case or Secure by Design artefact set.
Machine learning and data: MLOps, data provenance, and how models behave outside the lab.
Edge, embedded and networks: embedded software, RF interfaces, and device fleet management in constrained, contested environments.
Commercial literacy: OSS and commercial licensing, IP, switching costs and supplier incentives.

You will be comfortable operating across software, hardware and systems boundaries, developing senior engineers and team leads, and balancing long-term capability building with the demands of live programmes.

Experience in defence, national security or another safety- or mission-critical sector would be valuable, but sound engineering judgement, learning agility and credibility with technical teams are more important than experience in a particular domain.

About the Company

Rowden

Edge computing for defence and security

Rowden Technologies designs and delivers mission-critical edge computing and distributed sensor systems for environments with limited or unreliable connectivity. It handles end-to-end design, integration, sovereign manufacturing, and long-term managed services to support defence, national security, and emergency services. Its products include Trove for frontline generative AI, Magos for cost-effective signal processing and communications production, and Dovetail for modular edge-system integration, enabling rapid, secure decision-making even in denied environments. The company differentiates itself by prioritizing edge solutions with low connectivity, acting as a prime systems integrator for large programmes, offering sovereign manufacturing and lifecycle support, and pursuing projects like automated ML deployment to UAS for AUKUS Pillar II to reduce dependence on traditional defence contractors.

Company size: 51-200
Company stage: Grant
Total funding: $33.7M
Headquarters: Filton, United Kingdom
Founded: 2017

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